1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to an electrode arrangement and a method for fabricating the same, and more specifically, to an electrode arrangement with a three-dimensional (3D) structure, which is formed over an elastomer substrate and has elasticity and flexibility, and a method for fabricating the same.
2. Related Art
The demand for a flexible electronic device capable of overcoming the limit of an electronic device existing over a solid substrate has increased as the application field of electronic devices is widened. For example, electronic devices which are used as a flexible display, smart clothes, a dielectric elastomer actuator (DEA), a biocompatible electrode, and an in-body electrical signal sensor are required to have an elastic and flexible structure. One of basic and important technologies in the field of the electronic devices having elasticity and flexibility is to form a flexible electrode while maintaining conductivity.
As the method for fabricating a flexible electrode, the following methods have been reported. According to a first method, carbon nanotubes, transparent fluoride polymer, and ionic liquid may be mixed to fabricate a flexible electrode in a paste form. According to a second method, metal particles and polyacrylic acid mixture may be processed in a paste form so as to fabricate a pattern through an inkjet method. According to a third method, a metal layer may be formed over a corrugated PDMS (polydimethylsiloxane) substrate such that an electrode has flexibility as much as the corrugations are flattened. However, these methods have a problem in that the flexibility of the used material or corrugated substrate is limited, the conductivity of the used material or corrugated substrate rapidly decreases as it stretches and contracts, or the used material or corrugated substrate mechanically breaks. Furthermore, since the fabrication process is not generalized, the reliability of the fabrication process and the yield of electrodes are low. In addition, an operator is required to have a high level of skill. Thus, the fabrication process is not suitable for a mass production process.